Extended Data Fig. 7: TCPP fluorescence in the gels.

The steady state fluorescence spectra (excitation wavelength 405 nm) in both 5:5 and 7:3 water:ethanol gels show (top row) that there is a quenching of the porphyrin fluorescence in Gel@TCPP@Azo compared with Gel@TCPP for both solvent mixtures, as a result of energy transfer from the TCPP to the Azo chromophore. The middle row shows the time evolution of the same Gel@TCPP samples under continuous irradiation at 405 nm, where a modest bleaching is observed over time for both solvent systems. The bottom row shows the evolution of the fluorescence of Gel@TCPP@Azo under continuous irradiation, where at 5:5 water:ethanol a slight bleaching is observed (similar to Gel@TCPP), while for the 7:3 mixture an increase in fluorescence is observed, so that after 60 minutes the intensity is actually higher than that for Gel@TCPP after the same time.